MOUNTAIN CHEESE TEST PROMOTION | Lactose-free, Mild, and Spicy Austrian Alpine Cheese | at a Special Trial Price – 2 kg
Discover a whole new world of cheese with Christof Schneider’s mountain cheese (Austrian alpine cheese) from our Sennerei Rehmen in the Bregenzerwald.
Prepare for real surprises for your palate (see USA Competition)! The maturation periods of four and twelve months turn this mountain cheese into a true taste sensation that amazes even seasoned cheese lovers.
What makes this lactose-free cheese so special is the hand care in the natural cellar. Here, the mountain cheese is tended with the utmost care – not with regular salt, but with sodium- and iodine-free salt and pure spring water.
This exceptional treatment gives it a rind that is as distinctive as it is delicious, enhancing every bite.
But it’s not just the technique that makes this cheese unique. Our master cheesemaker continuously strives to create new taste experiences. His mountain cheese goes far beyond what one would expect from ordinary hard cheese. Every stage of maturation reveals surprising, intense flavors, taking the natural aged cheese taste to an entirely new level.
With every bite, you experience the depth and authenticity of a cheese made by hand and with a love for tradition. Let yourself be captivated by the complex spiciness and surprising flavors of this genuine mountain cheese – a product that truly stands in a class of its own.
Our test mountain cheeses belong to the family of our mountain cheese varieties in the shop overview.
- The 4-month and 12-month maturation periods allow this lactose-free hard cheese to develop a pleasantly mild to very spicy cheese aroma.
- Mountain cheese is a staple in the Vorarlberg region’s gourmet cuisine and an essential local cheese specialty.
MOUNTAIN CHEESE TRADITION | A Key Meaning for Hermann Berchtold
Our cheesemaker stands by the steaming cheese kettle, a piece of cheese cloth (“Bleacho”) in his mouth, holding the other ends of the cloth in his hands.
He leans deeply over the kettle, and both the “Bleacho” and his arms disappear into the yellowish whey. Using the cheese cloth, the cheesemaker fishes out the cheese – the small white pieces floating in the whey.
Back to the origin means working with harps and cloths for Hermann Berchtold.
The experienced cheesemaker thus upholds an old tradition. Hermann Berchtold’s cheese carries his unique signature. It is entirely handmade, as it was in earlier times.
However, he chooses this voluntarily. At 60, Berchtold has removed machinery in the “Rehmer Sennhus” in Au-Schoppernau and replaced them with a classic cheese harp.
“I wanted to preserve an old tradition that is slowly disappearing,” explains Berchtold, sharing why he chose the original method of cheesemaking.
This way of cheesemaking is indeed much more strenuous but involves sense of feel, taste, and touch.
The fact that this sensory craftsmanship impacts quality is proven not only by gold medals but also by high demand. “Our cheese can be found in many exquisite fine food stores across Europe.”
Hand-Brushing and Salting Mountain Cheese Wheels
For years, cheese was produced in Rehmen in the standard way: The dairy product was automatically cut in a copper kettle and pumped out. However, the new owners, the “Berchtold family,” wanted to return to tradition.
They removed the cheese makers and now make cheese as it was done before, with the cheese harp, the “Bleacho”; the cheese is hand-brushed and salted.
Result and Quality Characteristics of Hand-Scooped Mountain Cheese
- The approx. pea-sized, round, usually sparingly distributed holes are matte to glossy and evenly distributed.
- Due to the long maturation period, the cheese texture is less smooth (shorter), rather firm and slightly crumbly.
Find more interesting details about mountain cheese on Wikipedia.
Our Mountain Cheese Test Promotion Gourmet Tip
Try our spicy mountain cheese with alpine bacon, fresh onions, spicy mustard, and delicious farmhouse bread. We recommend a grassy Sauvignon Blanc white wine to accompany it.
The Holes in Mountain Cheese
The special mountain cheese from the Sennerei Rehmen has only a few small holes.
The Mountain Cheese Rind
The mountain cheese has a brown-yellow rind. The cheese is evenly covered with a brownish rind, inside it is white to cream-yellow with isolated holes, very aromatic aroma, and spicy taste.
Mountain Cheese Storage and Aging
Aging in the cheese cellar creates an intense aromatic flavor. The mountain cheese wheels are hand cared for and turned twice a week.
Vorarlberg Mountain Cheese | Historical Background
Mountain cheese has been produced and aged in Vorarlberg on alpine and valley dairies since the early 20th century. The production method of “fat cheese” (as opposed to low-fat cheese like Sura Käs in Montafon) originally came from Switzerland and quickly spread through the Bregenzerwald.
The traditional Vorarlberg hard cheese is made from natural (not thermized, pasteurized or centrifugal-degermed) raw milk (hay milk) with at least 45% F.i.T.
The distinctive characteristics of Bregenzerwald mountain cheese are significantly influenced by the alpine milk used in its production, its ingredients, taste, and texture, as well as the Vorarlberg alpine flora.
Thanks to the small-scale farms supplying the raw material and the alpine dairy tradition, artisanal production and traditional cheese care have been preserved to this day. The result is the unique quality and long shelf life of spicy Vorarlberg mountain cheese. Find more interesting details about mountain cheese on Wikipedia.
Additional Details about Mountain Cheese from Hay Milk
Milk: | 100% from silage-free hay milk, hand-scooped |
Cheese type: | Lactose-free hard cheese (HK) |
Aging type: | Lactic acid and/or fermentation aging in the natural cellar |
Cheese flavor profile: | Very spicy – burns on the tongue |
Aging period: | 12 months |
F.i.T.: | Minimum 45-52% |
Absolute fat: | Approx. 33% |
Allergens: | No other allergenic potential except milk components |
Lactose: | Not present |
Rennet: | Natural animal rennet |
Salt: | Iodine-free table salt |
What makes the cheese special – The cheese character? | Produced in about 25 dairies and over 100 alpine pastures in Vorarlberg, each cheese from each operation has its own character. The cheesemaker’s influence, season, feeding, outside temperature, etc., all impact this natural product. |
How does the cheese taste? |
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How does it feel, what is the texture? | Due to the long maturation period, experts speak of protein breakdown. The cheese texture becomes less smooth (shorter), firmer, and slightly crumbly. |
What is the color of the cheese? | Inside, ivory to creamy yellow, in summer sunny yellow. The cheese has a smeared, dried brown-yellow rind. |
What does the cheese dough smell like? | Spicy, aromatic, strong scent. |
What does the hole pattern look like? | The approx. pea-sized, round, usually sparse holes are matte to shiny and evenly distributed. |
How is the cheese best enjoyed? |
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How to recognize suboptimal ripening – lower quality? |
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If you plan to store large pieces or a whole mountain cheese wheel for more than 2-3 weeks, we recommend using a tea towel.
Take a clean tea towel, soak it in salt water (just add a little salt), wring it out, and wrap the cheese with the damp cloth. Repeat this process ideally every 2-3 days.
If the cheese turns slightly white or develops spots, this is usually salt or protein crystallizing due to the temperature difference. Simply rub off these spots.
Using aluminum foil is possible (although we advise against it), if supplemented with many small holes to allow air circulation.
No Bread Contact - Yeast Spores
Please never store cheese on boards, woods, or surfaces where bread has previously been. The yeast residue from bread causes cheese to mold quickly.
MFelgner (verified owner) –
Great cheese, tastes very good, spicy and aromatic. Have only been able to try a part of the cheeses I ordered, as most of them were a gift, but the ones I tried were great in taste.
Reinhard Dörre (verified owner) –
Simply great will often order something.
Angelika (verified owner) –
Simply great, I order again and again.
Josef Schlefelner (verified owner) –
Have you already recommended!
paul missner (verified owner) –
The delivery went ok. Already when unpacking the smell comes to meet as 60 years ago. Fabulous rich cheese!
Hans Thelen (verified owner) –
Delicious cheese with holiday memories
mrsbecker (verified owner) –
The cheese is delicious, it tastes best from the hand.
Many Thanks
Eleonora (verified owner) –
Excellent, I am a native of Vorarlberg and can taste the delicious cheese that tastes like in my childhood and also home away from home.
josef pum (verified owner) –
Exactly my taste and our great-grandchildren are thrilled.
Hergenröder (verified owner) –
The cheese is the force, we can not get any better. We are thrilled and will be back soon.
Marie-Luise Schlösser (verified owner) –
The delivery as always very good.
The taste simply incomparable.
B. Weise (verified owner) –
The delivery was fast and good.
The taste of the cheese is very
I can only recommend delicious.
Cafe zum Schlüssel (verified owner) –
Hello, the cheese is great as expected.
Best regards – Alexander Armbruster
Christa Franke (verified owner) –
Very tasty, will recommend the products.
Kamberci (verified owner) –
Delicious ++ good service ++ lg